Some Thoughts on Floss Coverage in Cross Stitch

I’ll admit this is something I never really think about, but do you use different numbers of strands of floss in different projects or different parts of a project? Unless the pattern says otherwise, I default to two strands, but that might not always be the best look, as Better Cross Stitch Patterns explains.

It all depends on the look you want for your project, of course, but it makes sense that different numbers of strands create more or less coverage of the fabric beneath.

So if you really want your design filled in, you might need to use three strands, or if you’re going for an open look, one strand might be enough.

Click over to the post for bigger images and more examples, including how coverage changes when you use colored cloth.

Is this something you’ve thought about or do you tend to stitch the same regardless? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[Photo: Better Cross Stitch Patterns.]

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How Much Embroidery Floss Should You Use?

The other day I shared some cross stitch patterns with ornaments on them, so this time around I wanted to share cross stitch patterns that you can use as ornaments. It would be fun to do a whole tree in your craft room with cross stitch ornaments, or just add a few to your tree or give them as gifts.

These little quilt inspired cross stitch patterns from Flamingo Toes look like ornaments and fit in 3-inch hoops, which are perfect for hanging on the tree or using to decorate a gift. I love the pastel colors on these but you can use more traditional Christmas colors if you like.

This cute Christmas tree from Lagodargetoshop uses a single color and fits in a 4-inch hoop, but you could make it smaller if you wanted by trimming the last ornaments and gifts from the sides, or just stitch the tree without any other embellishments. Either way it’s a cute addition to your holiday tree.

Stitched Modern has a super cute collection of retro Christmas ornament cross stitch patterns from designer Gera. This is a printed pattern that will be shipped to you. Each pattern is about 40 by 56 stitches, or 2.9 by 4 inches/7.4 by 10 cm on 14 count fabric. To work the whole set you’ll need 20 colors of floss.

These snowflake ornaments from Our Little Handmade Home are each about 2.5 inches/6.4 cm when stitched on 14 count fabric, and they use a single color of floss. They are pretty in red but you could also do white on a blue or black background, or whatever suits your other Christmas tree decorations!

From the description it sounds like this set of vintage style cross stitch characters is presented as one large chart, but the photo from Sampler Antique Stitch shows each of them stitched up as their own little ornament, so it gets included here. You’ll find Santa and snowmen in different poses in this cute collection.

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